Terrebonne Parish

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

72,377

81.75%

83,960

86.80%

Spanish

730

0.82%

1,460

1.51%

Other Indo-European*

14,823

16.74%

10,674

11.04%

Asian Language**

499

0.56%

625

0.65%

Other

108

0.12%

9

0.01%

Total Population Age 5+

88,537

100.00%

96,728

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

572

39.18%

Other Indo-European*

2,471

23.15%

Asian Language**

311

49.76%

Other Language

0

0.00%

Total

3,354

3.47%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

315

43.15%

Other Indo-European*

3,805

25.67%

Asian Language**

319

63.93%

Other Language

42

38.89%

Total

4,481

5.06%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.